Nonstop flight route between Kaitaia, New Zealand and Fairbanks / Fort Wainwright, Alaska, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Kaitaia Airport (KAT), Kaitaia, New Zealand and Ladd Army Airfield (FBK), Fairbanks / Fort Wainwright, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,219 miles (or 11,617 kilometers).

A Great Circle is the shortest distance between 2 points on a sphere. Because most world maps are flat (but the Earth is round), the route of the shortest distance between 2 points on the Earth will often appear curved when viewed on a flat map, especially for long distances. If you were to simply draw a straight line on a flat map and measure a very long distance, it would likely be much further than if you were to lay a string between those two points on a globe. Because of the large distance between Kaitaia Airport and Ladd Army Airfield, the route shown on this map most likely appears curved because of this reason.

Try it at home! Get a globe and tightly lay a string between Kaitaia Airport and Ladd Army Airfield. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about Kaitaia Airport (KAT):

• The runway has a Pavement Classification Number of 15 which allows aircraft of up to 22,500 kg.
• The closest airport to Kaitaia Airport (KAT) is Kerikeri Airport (KKE), which is located 38 miles (61 kilometers) ESE of KAT.
• Kaitaia Airport is the most northern airfield in New Zealand that has fuel available.
• Because of Kaitaia Airport's relatively low elevation of 270 feet, planes can take off or land at Kaitaia Airport at a lower air speed than at airports located at a higher elevation. This is because the air density is higher closer to sea level than it would otherwise be at higher elevations.
• Kaitaia Airport (KAT) has 2 runways.
• The furthest airport from Kaitaia Airport (KAT) is Kenitra Air Base (NNA), which is nearly antipodal to Kaitaia Airport (meaning Kaitaia Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Kenitra Air Base), and is located 12,383 miles (19,929 kilometers) away in Kenitra, Morocco.
• On 13 June 2005, Kaitaia Airport received an injection of $333,850 to upgrade its runway facilities so that it can accommodate larger aircraft.

Facts about Ladd Army Airfield (FBK):

• Ladd Army Airfield (FBK) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Ladd Army Airfield's relatively low elevation of 454 feet, planes can take off or land at Ladd Army Airfield at a lower air speed than at airports located at a higher elevation. This is because the air density is higher closer to sea level than it would otherwise be at higher elevations.
• Alaska's transportation infrastructure at the time was so limited and the problem of military supply so acute, it also made sense to concentrate the bases along existing supply lines near Anchorage and Fairbanks.
• The closest airport to Ladd Army Airfield (FBK) is Fairbanks International Airport (FAI), which is located only 7 miles (12 kilometers) WSW of FBK.
• The furthest airport from Ladd Army Airfield (FBK) is Port Elizabeth International Airport (PLZ), which is located 10,286 miles (16,554 kilometers) away in Port Elizabeth, South Africa.
• From the late 1940s into the 1950s, Ladd AFB served as the northern hub for Air Force activities in Alaska.
• Reflecting the need to insure aircraft bound for the Soviet Union were prepared for the flight to Galena and Nome, prior to flying across the Bering Straits to Siberia, Ladd AAF the Alaska Air Depot of XI AF Service Command was activated on 8 July 1942.
• Ladd was not exclusively an Air Force site.
• In addition to being known as "Ladd Army Airfield", another name for FBK is "(Ladd Air Force Base)".